Notes of Revolt

Late Breaking News: War in Chiapas!

As we went to press, war broke out in Chiapas. Knowing this was likely, we did not attempt an updated analysis of the Zapatista struggle for this issue. Any analysis would now be outdated. The following is excerpted from an EZLN communique dated Dec. 1
9:

On the 11, 12, 13 and 14th of December, Zapatista troops from Infantry Divisions 75 and 25, first entity of the Southeast Army, broke the military circle in the Lacandona Jungle. Organized in 4 columns, one of which was at the command of a woman milita
ry commander, the Zapatista units infiltrated enemy lines with the objective of avoiding an armed confrontation. During these 4 days, protected by the terrain, the climate and the support of the civilian population, thousands of combatants managed to cros
s the line. As of the 14th of December, the total units assigned were outside the military ring without one casualty or open fire with the federal troops. Once this action was completed, Zapatista combatants prepared for the second phase. The 15, 16, 17 a
nd 18 of December of 1994, in actions called "Lightning" and "Deployment" as part of the campaign "Peace with Justice and Dignity for the Indigenous Peoples." With the support of local civilian populations, they have taken positions in the following munic
ipalities of the state of Chiapas: Ocosingo, Las Margaritas, Altamirano, La Independencia, Trinitaria, Chanal, Oxchuc, Huxtan, Comitán de Dominguez, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Teopisca, Villa de las Rosas, Nicolas Ruiz, Socoltenango, Totolapa, Palenque,
Salto de Agua, Tila, Sabanilla, Yajalón, Tumbala, Chilón, Huitiuipan, Simojovel, San Andrés Larrainzar, El Bosque, Bochil, Chenalh'o, Pantelh'o, Mitotic, Sitala, San Juan Chamula, Zincantan, Ixtapa, Cancuc, Jitotol, Amatenango del Valle, and Venustiano Ca
rranza.

Nazis Bashed in Berkeley by a Berkeley Anti-Fascist

Two hundred anti-fascists gathered in Berkeley on the evening of Oct. 13, disrupting a speech by Holocaust denier David Irving. This infamous British revisionist "historian" has been waging a campaign for what he calls "real history," but what is in fa
ct an insidious pack of lies. He has written sympathetic biographies of Hitler, Goering, and Rommel, and travels around the world lecturing at events sponsored by various pro-nazi groups. He has been accompanied by nazi skins and Toronto-based fascist Ern
st Zundel, author of The Hitler We Loved and Did Six Million Really Die? In his home country of Britain, Irving is prevented by anti-fascists from speaking publicly, while in Germany, Canada, and other countries, he is banned from entering altogether.

Irving was scheduled to give a lecture at the Alumni House of the University of California, Berkeley, but the event was secretly moved to a YWCA due to protesters already present. Scouts quickly determined the new location and informed the crowd, which
then moved en masse to the YWCA. Finding no police present, protesters stormed the hall, confronting the liar and his supporters. A scuffle ensued as Irving's bodyguard attacked the protesters. Several older nazis sporting SS pins tried to leave and were
subjected to the justified rage of anti-fascists, many of whom had family members interned by these same people. Irving's literature table was overturned and a box of videotapes, The Death of the "Holocaust" Legend Begins, was smashed with great enthusia
sm. Also found were swastika stickers, a German pride button, and other nazi merchandise.

Cops from the Berkeley and UC-campus police departments eventually arrived, driving the anti-fascists from the building. By this time, most of the people who had come to hear Irving speak had gotten cold feet and left. After several more disruptions, I
rving was able to give his speech to a greatly diminished audience, and only under the armed protection of dozens of police.

About 75 anti-fascists waited out the lecture, and Irving, donning a disguise, tried desperately for half-an-hour to leave without notice. Finally, with cops helping him carry out his hate literature, he was whisked off in a cop car.

The action was seen by organizers as a partial but important success. Although the demonstrators were not able to prevent the lecture from taking place, hopefully the Alumni House and the YWCA have learned that people in Berkeley won't tolerate racist
scumbags like Irving.

Many of us were pleasantly surprised by the breadth of participation and the level of militancy displayed by the protesters against the hate-mongers. Many passers-by joined the protest or were otherwise supportive, adding to the collective spirit of an
ti-fascist solidarity.

Some onlookers voiced concern over the issue of "free speech," engaging anti-fascists in heated discussions on the street. Our response was that David Irving did not come to speak dispassionately about the finer points of academia, but instead to netwo
rk with nazis and other Holocaust deniers. To have let this event occur unhindered would imply our complicity in allowing the worldwide neo-nazi movement to grow.H

Cubans Riot in Panama

A total of 254 US military personnel and 15 Cubans were injured on Dec. 7 and 8 in disturbances when some 2,000 balseros—Cubans who left Cuba on rafts and are trying to get to the US—rioted in two of four US "safe haven" camps where 8,600 of them are b
eing held in Panama. These "safe havens" are nothing more than prison camps, where the refugees are detained in inhumane conditions. The US government hopes these conditions will make the refugees opt for repatriation instead of waiting an indeterminate a
mount of time to be allowed into the US.

The US troops used tear gas to quell the riots. Most of the injured US soldiers suffered minor bruises and scrapes from rocks, bottles and bricks thrown by the frustrated Cubans; 18 were hospitalized. Army tents, televisions, and computers, as well as
15 military vehicles, were destroyed. Some 1,000 balseros escaped; an unspecified number returned voluntarily, and some others were recaptured. On Dec. 9, US troops at the camps were issued shotguns, tear gas, and riot gear. According to the US-based Span
ish-language television network Telemundo, 300 balseros involved in the riots were arrested and are awaiting hearings. On Dec. 10 Telemundo reported that 24 of the Cubans were still at large; the unidentified body of one was found on the southwest bank of
the Panama Canal. Reuters reported on Dec. 10 that two Cubans were found dead near the canal, and that more than 30 remain at large.

—From Weekly News Update on the Americas

Revolt in Lexington

On Oct. 25 a police officer in Lexington, Ky. who was serving a warrant to Antonio Sullivan, an 18-year-old Black male, decided to shoot Sullivan in the head, killing him, instead of serving the warrant. In response, hundreds of Black youth rioted, att
acking a police station with rocks and bottles, overturning cars, causing thousands of dollars of damage, and injuring at least one cop.

A similar rebellion broke out last summer when police raided a Lexington housing project. Then over 500 people clashed with the police after it was rumored the cops had hit a 15 year-old with a vehicle and arrested the wrong person.H

Conference Against White Supremacy

The Center for Democratic Renewal (CDR) recently announced that it will sponsor a conference in Atlanta, scheduled for March, 1995, entitled "Building Community with our Allies: Defending Diversity and Democracy." CDR has been monitoring, documenting,
and educating the public about the white-supremacist movement for 15 years. The conference "will bring together allies in the pro-democratic movement from various issue areas" to look at the white supremacist/radical-right movement and the way that it aff
ects us all, and "seek common ground" in our work against it.

I would like to distribute ________ copies of each issue of Love and Rage. Enclosed is $________ (35 cents not for profit, 50 cents for professional distributors x number of copies) for my first bundle.